Chapter 72: The Antler

Chapter 72: The Antler

With disbelief on her face, Yin Zhu stared at the Emperor. Behind her, Lady Li closed her eyes, realizing her fate.

"Noble Consort, please help, beg His Majesty for mercy! The child is innocent!" Yin Zhu tried to grasp Jiang Hui's dress but was stopped by Autumn Cui.

Lowering her gaze, Jiang Hui turned to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, about the child in Lady Li’s womb..."

She could be wise, indifferent, flamboyant, even kill in front of the Emperor, but she could not show malice towards his offspring, even if the child's mother had almost harmed her own.

Emperor Xiao Sheng stood and walked over to Jiang Hui, taking her hand and cutting off her words, "Noble Consort, come for a walk with me."

September Clothing Ceremony.

Despite it being only late August, in the Pingyang Mountains at night, Jiang Hui still shivered from the cold.

Xiao Sheng removed his outer clouded leopard fur cloak and draped it over Jiang Hui's shoulders, leading them to a stream at the foot of the mountain.

An Jing and Autumn Cui, along with other palace attendants, trailed behind at a distance, careful not to intrude.

The cheerful tinkling of the stream under the moonlight seemed lively and endearing, yet the two standing by its side were silent for a moment.

After a quiet pause, Xiao Sheng finally made a move.

Having changed his clothes after leaving the hunting ground, he wore his usual jade pendant and scholar's sword at his waist, now accompanied by a sheepskin pouch.

Xiao Sheng reached into the pouch and pulled out a moose antler, handing it to Jiang Hui.

Jiang Hui was momentarily taken aback.

Xiao Sheng smiled, "This is from the first moose hunted with the Dragon Tongue Bow Hui'er gifted me."

The Emperor remembered to take the antler from the moose he hunted today as part of his scheme?

Jiang Hui looked down, caressing the antler resembling tree branches under the moonlight, dry and smooth to the touch, faintly smelling of perilla leaves – evidently well-cared for.

"Your Majesty?" Jiang Hui asked, puzzled.

Xiao Sheng cleared his throat, his gaze fixed on the reflections of two people in the stream, speaking softly, "Has Hui'er forgotten what she said back in the Chongwen Hall?"

Chongwen Hall?

Jiang Hui stared intently at the antler in her hand, finally recalling the grand words she had spoken as a young girl.

Back then, when Master Lin was lecturing about Sima Xiangru's "Zixu Fu," he mentioned his romance with Zhuo Wenjun.

The young Princess An Ning couldn't understand Wenjun's elopement and selling liquor, boldly proclaiming that anyone who wished to marry her must present her with an elk antler hunted personally during the autumn hunt.

In the Zhou Dynasty, due to the legacy of the founding emperor, every new emperor must hunt personally in Pingcheng during his first year, as a ritual. Thus, the elk hunted during the autumn hunt holds a special significance.

Feeling moved, Jiang Hui stepped closer to the Emperor and said softly, "I didn’t expect Third Brother still remembered..."

Seeing a rare blush in Jiang Hui's brows, Xiao Sheng couldn’t help but smile, pulling her into his arms, whispering, "After Father Emperor arranged our marriage, I had this thought, but during the Qian Ning years, I couldn't go to Pingcheng. Now, I've finally fulfilled it."

Jiang Hui nestled in his arms, softly "Hmm"ing in response.

She was genuinely touched, but that was all.

Being outside with attendants nearby, despite knowing that An Jing and the others were respectfully standing with bowed heads and not daring to look their way, she still wriggled out of the Emperor's embrace, jokingly saying, "How come Third Brother only gave one? Aren’t there a pair of antlers?"

Xiao Sheng laughed, "Our ancestors set the rules, at least leave me one!"

The first year's hunt of an elk by a new emperor traditionally meant storing the antlers in the palace's inner treasury, later to be buried with the emperor in his tomb.

Jiang Hui playfully smirked, her laughter causing Xiao Sheng's heart to itch. He gently took her hand, saying, "It’s getting late, let's return and settle in."

Due to the incident with Prince Jin, the autumn hunt ended quickly, and the Emperor only stayed in Pingcheng for two days and nights before beginning the journey back to the palace.

A cool breeze in the evening brought a rich fragrance of osmanthus throughout the palace.

In the Yaohua Palace, Wan Song carried incense, bath beans, and a bamboo basket filled with fresh hibiscus, gracefully entering the western annex of the Qionghua Hall.

Mist filled the palace hall, warm and moist steam swirling, accompanied by the gentle sound of water.

Passing through twelve blue and white porcelain screens, she faced a large bath, each corner embedded with bronze Xuanming, from which water continuously flowed into the pool.

Jiang Hui sat in the pool, her back turned, with her black hair partially submerged.

"Mistress, the hibiscus has bloomed, look!" Autumn Cui, excited, approached the pool, placing the object she carried gently on a nearby black lacquered double-layered stand.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hui slightly turned her head, her long hair draped over her ear slipping down, revealing a pale shoulder.

"With no one by the stream, petals open and fall①." She picked a white and pink hibiscus from the basket, smiling lightly, "This flower falls with its stem, never shedding petals separately, quietly blooming and falling, and you've picked it."

Autumn Cui pursed her lips, smiling, dipped her hand into the water briefly, then rubbed the soap in her hand before gently washing Jiang Hui's hair.

"I was delighted by the blooming flowers in the garden."

The death of Lady Li brought her joy – how could it not?

Jiang Hui hummed in response, effortlessly tossing hibiscus flowers from the basket into the pool, creating a pink spread on the water's surface.

"Now it's a hibiscus pool," she said, a hint of childlike playfulness in her otherwise serene tone.

Autumn Cui, accustomed to her mistress's whims, began to chatter about the next day's breakfast.

"With these flowers, I could make some hibiscus rice porridge for you. How about pairing it with a dish of split pea cake and a cold okra salad…?"

As she spoke, Autumn Cui entered with a jar of cow's milk.

"Cold okra salad?" she asked.

Autumn Cui chuckled without saying a word.

Knowing Autumn Cui was teasing her, Autumn Cui pretended to be unamused and suggested, "Well then, Mistress, how about we have jellyfish with cabbage tomorrow? They just brought fresh cabbage to the kitchen."

"Cui" means cabbage, so Autumn Cui's name itself implied late autumn or early winter cabbage, fitting the season perfectly.

Jiang Hui smiled, listening to the playful banter of her maids without interrupting.

After the laughter, Qiu Kui poured cow milk into a copper basin, mixed in crushed soapberries and a bit of bean flour, and carefully wiped Jiang Hui's hands.

With her eyes closed, enjoying the service of her maids, Jiang Hui softly asked, "How are things at Puro Temple?"

As soon as the Emperor returned to the palace, he immediately ordered the surrounding of Prince Jin's residence, Duke Qing's, and the Earl of Cheng'en's estates. He also deployed the Imperial Guards to raid the homes of ministers secretly conspiring with Prince Jin. The court was shaken by these actions, but it was a clear case of treason, and the ministers dared not speak much.

The first major action of the new emperor's reign was this purge, which cost thousands of lives.

Since then, the Emperor’s brothers lost their power, with the Prince of Changle completely falling from grace, leaving no one to threaten the Emperor's throne.

Hearing Jiang Hui's question, Qiu Kui didn't pause in her task. After soaking a fine silk cloth in the cow milk from the copper basin, she gently wrapped Jiang Hui's hands, massaging them skillfully, and spoke calmly, "Jing'an Lay Buddhist heard of Prince Jin's downfall and took his own life before the Emperor's men arrived. It is said he hanged himself with silk."

Hanged with silk?

The Marquis of Ningyuan's troops chose such a way for her to die.

Jiang Hui nodded, no longer speaking, and closed her eyes, pretending to doze.

Seeing this, Qiu Kui and Wan Song became even more gentle in their movements.

——

Note: Excerpt from Wang Wei's "Xinyi Wu".